Short biography on the author:

Chris Joseph is an “award-winning digital producer and designer who creates electronic literature and art” for a broad audience including children (Joseph) and has also created works under the pseudonym “babel” (“Chris Joseph (writer/artist)”). He has produced numerous pieces of electronic literature and digital poetry and enjoys collaborating with artists and writers, which include other big names in electronic literate such as Kate Pullinger (“Chis Joseph”). He has won multiple awards including one for his collaborative work on a “series of multimedia stories” with Pullinger (“Chis Joseph”) as well as the first “Premio per l’arte digitale” from the Italian Ministry of Culture (“Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph”). Joseph is British/Canadian (born in Suffolk, England) and now resides in London (“Chris Joseph (writer/artist)”). In his academic career, Joseph was the “first ever Digital Writer-in-Residence” at the De Montfort University’s Institute of Creative Technologies and remained there for two years (“Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph”). Furthermore, Joseph is a member of the De Montfort University “Transliteracy Research Group […which researches] the concepts and practice of transliteracy” (“Chris Joseph (writer/artist)”) and he is the founder and editor a multimedia modernist magazine called 391.org (“Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph”).

Description of the work:

Bully For You: Mother’s Profile is a “digital fiction short” by British artist/writer Chris Joseph, which was commissioned to him by the Bully For You project (“Bully For You: Mother’s Profile”). This animated and interactive piece of critical short fiction is not only a good example of electronic children’s literature, but also a powerful educational tool for children and youth which can be used in a classroom setting in order to teach students crucial life lessons and morals related to bullying and in addition can also further children’s literacy skills (“Bully For You: Mother’s Profile”). Bully For You: Mother’s Profile is the story of Ted, a young boy who is being cyber-bullied, which is told by Ted’s concerned mother in a personal essay type narrative. The piece is composed of animated/kinetic photographic images, which are organized like a comic strip and Joseph is appropriating techniques such as split frames, panels, and a specific font, all mimicking this genre. The reader has to click on flashing arrows in order to move between frames and to progress through the narrative, which gives the audience some control and makes the piece interactive. The music and audio, featuring a fast beat and sirens, add to the feeling of urgency and danger. The piece’s images carefully support the text in a visual way, which furthers understanding and comprehension within the reader.

Framing Commentary:

Chris Joseph’s Bully For You: Mother’s Profile has a powerful message with a bullied child’s mother directly addressing the reader, pleading for help. The multimodality of this piece, which combines elements of images, video, sounds, and text, (Ganter) lends an added sense of urgency, which works well for this piece, as Joseph is attempting to evoke specific emotions in his young readers in order to teach them about bullying. Using the mother as the narrator was an excellent choice, as this type of narrator will appeal to the reader’s emotions and conscience. When she introduces Ted, the reader discovers that he is an outsider, but also that his family loves him very much. Joseph utilizes drama and makes Ted relatable in order to evoke certain emotions in a young audience. The visual and audio components of this piece guide the reader to the important parts of each screen and by deliberately highlighting what he feels is imperative, Joseph takes advantage of the multimodal elements of electronic literature. He carefully uses images and sounds to set the mood and to support his narrative. When Ted’s mother begins to talk about her son being cyber-bullied, a photo of the child’s dark room with only the computer screen lit up sets the grim tone. This is an example of how electronic literature “test[s] the boundaries of the literary and challenges us to rethink our assumptions of what literature can do and be” (Hayles 5), as we are comfortable with a particular idea regarding what we understand as literature and pieces such as Joseph’s may not fit nicely into this exact mold because it tackles the process of story telling in a different, but also innovative way. Furthermore Joseph critically comments on the dangers of new media such as social media (Ganter), as this is very popular amongst children. He incorporates a chat window as part of his text presentation while introducing some critical terminology. The interactive capacities of electronic literature are used well here, as the reader discovers new vocabulary related to bullying by mousing over some brightly coloured and underlined words. The explanation appears in a speech bubble, supporting Joseph’s comic-book theme. Creating Bully For You: Mother’s Profile in a comic book style makes it attractive to a young audience and Jacob, like other electronic literature authors, such as Donna Leishman and Jim Andrews, uses specific visual elements in order to appeal to young learners. Whilst the user progresses through the narrative, Ted chats with another child, who is bullying him online. As each insulting names appears in the chat window, a slapping sound can be heard. For the purpose of this piece, sound is important here and as William Burdette stresses, “where there’s smoke there’s fire, and where there’s noise, there’s often a complex of social, economic, and environmental disadvantages” (n. p.). Taking advantage of the capabilities of electronic literature (animation, sound, text), Joseph is teaching an important lesson and drawing a clear connection between physical and emotional abuse. The author’s decision to give this piece an open ending, with Ted having gone missing, is also a critical strategy for this educational tool, as it evokes particular thoughts and emotions within the reader. The children reading this piece will be left imagining what might have happened to Ted because of the bullying. All in all, Joesph’s Bully For You: Mother’s Profile is an outstanding example of how useful and educational electronic children’s literature can be.

Works Cited

       “About Me.” Chris Joseph: Digital Fiction, Electronic Poetry, Digital Art, Music. Chris Joseph. N.p., N. d., Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

       “Bully For You: Mother’s Profile.” Chris Joseph: Digital Fiction, Electronic Poetry, Digital Art, Music. Chris Joseph. N.p., N. d., Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

Burdette, William. “DJ Spooky Interview.” 2011 Writing with Sound Page. Currents In Electronic Literature, University of Texas at Austin, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

“Chris Joseph.” Rhizome. N. p., N. d., Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

“Chris Joseph (writer/artist).” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

Ganter, Brian. “Text Image Sound I.” English 335, Section 1. Capilano University, North Vancouver, BC, 15 Feb. 2013. Lecture.

Hayles, N. Katherine. Electronic Literature: New Horizons for the Literary. Nortre Dame: UND Press, 2008. Print.

“Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph.” paula’s blog. Ed. Paula. N. p., 28 Dec. 2008. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.